Chapter 113 - 87: Qi and Blood Like a Furnace, Drawing the Bow to Shoot a Skin Refining Expert: How Far from Groom to Boss

Chapter 113: Chapter 87: Qi and Blood Like a Furnace, Drawing the Bow to Shoot a Skin Refining Expert: How Far from Groom to Boss

However—

SWOOSH, SWOOSH!

Two arrows, imbued with the Martial Stance of Dusk Crows, arrived with blinding speed, seeming to darken the very daylight!

And yet...

A flash of disdain crossed their eyes:

"A bow drawn with Bone Tempering strength? That’s only ten stones of force—a mere thousand pounds of power. It can’t even pierce flesh and bone forged to be impervious, let alone our Jade Skin realm, born of shedding skin to birth jade!?"

"Insolent pup!"

At once, one man’s palm rose like a mountain peak, moving unhesitatingly to snap the great arrow.

The other snorted, drawing his Eighth Grade Ten Forged Steel Refining Blade to instantly slash at the arrow’s shaft.

Neither man took the arrows seriously. Their sole focus was on getting to Ji Xiu, intending to use him as a hostage to force the County Soldiers to lay down their arms.

But as the two Divine Strategy Armor-Piercing Arrows crossed the distance, just as they were about to meet the man’s hand and the other’s blade—

Suddenly, the bodies of the two Skin Refining practitioners trembled. It felt as if a knife’s point were being pressed to their eyelids; their entire Skin Membrane broke out in goosebumps. It was a warning, an omen!

In that instant, the two looked up, only to feel their world go dark, as if crows had blotted out their vision. By the time they shook their heads violently to throw off the momentary influence of the Martial Stance...

The arrows had already arrived!

SCHRRRRK!!

In the moment the two entry-level Skin Refining Martial Artists lost their vigilance, the Divine Strategy Heavy Arrows struck, carrying the full weight of the Martial Stance.

One arrow nailed the man’s left palm, punching through the bone with an agonizing grinding sound before lodging deep inside... The impact sent his body flying backward.

The other arrow punched straight through the Eighth Grade steel blade. The sheer force—enough to pierce a willow leaf at a hundred paces—shattered the blade and carried the metal fragments with it, blasting them all into his chest.

His chest burst open in a spray of blood, the flesh mangled where the arrowhead had viciously embedded itself deep inside!

The forward charge of the two Skin Refining experts was shattered by the might of Ji Xiu’s two arrows, which sent them reeling back, their eyes blazing with fury:

"Just how many pounds of force did that arrow carry? It sent my body—my Flesh, Bone, Skin, and Membrane—flying backward in a single instant!?"

Ji Xiu lowered his bow, a chill settling over his expression.

Having already made a trip to the County Yamen, he now knew the origin of yesterday’s Secret Medicine and Spirit Wine.

Moreover, he had heard from Zhang Qing’s master, Han Ying, that the Qi Cultivation Grandmaster Wang Hongzu, who had died a violent death, had originally come with the intention of killing him.

If his family’s ancestral graves hadn’t been smoking with good fortune—producing not only a peerless prodigy like himself, but also a young, female Ancestral Master—

who had brought down a bolt from the blue, causing that impossibly arrogant Qi Cultivation Grandmaster—a man who dominated half the East Canghai—to die a silent, inexplicable death...

Even if he had survived the previous night, he wouldn’t have escaped this one. Sooner or later, this day would have become his death anniversary!

On top of that, Han Ying had turned informant. And on the list of Central Yellow Sect collaborators that he had given to County Magistrate Zhao Jiu, the name Lin Du was brazenly written.

Then there was Old Yao, who had run to him for help first thing in the morning, his face a mask of despair. He said his boss, Lin Zhenhai, was playing the ’better to give to an outsider than one’s own son’ card and was about to transfer all his land titles and shops to him...

With new grudges piled atop old, County Magistrate Zhao Jiu had generously given him the authority to command the County Soldiers.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ji Xiu mustered fifty Armored County Soldiers. He emulated the prestige of Gu Baichuan, the Hundred Households commander, leading his fifty County Soldiers to storm the residence on horseback!

’Skin Refining?’

He watched as the two arrows he’d loosed with all his might—drawing his bow, Broken Jade, so far back the string trembled—had only broken skin and shattered bone. They hadn’t been enough to kill a Jade-skinned Martial Artist in one shot. He couldn’t help but nod lightly.

’These bastards’ shells are truly tough. Just as I thought, they’re a world apart from Bone Tempering Martial Artists.’

’If this were close-quarters combat, even with my solid foundation and Superior Martial Arts, I couldn’t overcome their massive advantage in realm. The outcome would be...’

’...truly up in the air.’

But!

Just as his two arrows sent the men flying backward, and as the other servants and underlings of the estate had all but scattered...

Before the two horrified Skin Refining practitioners had a chance to attempt another breakout...

THWACK! THWACK!

Dozens of Strong Crossbows, mass-produced in the Official Kilns by a Qi Dao Grand Craftsman from the Prefecture City, all fired at once!

In an instant, the volley from all directions completely sealed off any hope of survival for the two Skin Refining practitioners, as well as for Lin Du!

THWIP! THWIP! THWIP!

Why is the private forging of armor and construction of heavy crossbows so strictly forbidden among the populace?

Because a single Divine Arm Crossbow may not be of much use; compared to Ji Xiu, who could draw a Hundred Stones bow with the arm strength of an elephant, it was a far cry.

But...

Operating a Crossbow Mechanism doesn’t require a profound foundation like Ji Xiu’s. All you need are dozens, even hundreds of County Soldiers, set up together on all sides...

And then, targets like the two Skin Refining members of the Central Yellow Sect and Lin Du, no matter how they dodged left and right, would inevitably be showered in their own blood, their bones shattering, until they were reduced to a mangled mess of flesh!

"You vile wretches! Cowardly rats! Lapdogs and hunting falcons of the Noble Clans..."

"All you know is how to hide behind heavy crossbows, drawing bows and shooting arrows! Why don’t you dare come forward and face us in a true Martial Artist’s brawl!"

The two Skin Refining practitioners were drenched in blood. Lin Du was shot so full of holes he resembled a sieve; his earlier smugness was a distant memory as he fell silent for good.

Their Jade Skin was riddled with holes. Their veins bulged like coiled Flood Dragons as they let out ferocious roars, panting for breath. They had just barely managed to protect their hearts, but before they could erupt forth once more...

Another volley of crossbow bolts, accompanied by two Divine Strategy Armor-Piercing Arrows, came piercing through the air!

Even for Skin Refining masters!

Trapped in such a kill box, they were worn down and brutally killed. Before dying, their eyes were wide with a rage so intense it seemed to spew fire.

They seemed to be lamenting in fury—after decades of bitter training in the Martial Arts, after freely roaming the Mountain Dao, to die in such a constrained and pathetic manner was the ultimate humiliation!

[The Tutor has cast Dusk Crows, piercing flesh and bone, penetrating the Blood Marrow, and killing a Jade-skinned Martial Artist. Progress +77!]